Comments: NASCAR Picks for Bristol

It has been a rough couple of weeks for fantasy owners. After mechanical issues and an oil spill caused chaos at Watkins Glen, engine gremlins in the Hendrick Motorsports camp at Michigan continued the headache. Tony Stewart, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson all suffered engine failures, and Johnson's motor let go with six laps remaining while he was in the lead. Throw in a bizarre, violent wreck for pole-sitter Mark Martin as he was busy dominating the race, and fantasy owners had several opportunities to see promising days ruined.

This weekend's trip to Bristol Motor Speedway might not provide much relief either. The half-mile track was reconfigured following the March race in an attempt to restore the traditional, bumping and banging action that Bristol was famous for prior to a 2007 reconfiguration. Unlike the widened surface with progressive banking that was added in '07, the new layout features a much more narrow racing groove. Whether it will produce the same type of racing that produced so many bump-and-runs back in Bristol's glory days remains to be seen, but either way the new track is bound to benefit some drivers and give others fits. Given all the unknowns, Saturday night's race will definitely present a challenge to fantasy owners.